1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to flange protectors, and more particularly to a lightweight, weather resistant flange protector for temporary application to the flange of a pipe, valve or other conduit so as to protect the machined surface of the flange from damage during shipment and handling. This invention also relates to a method for coupling a flange protector to a conduit.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Flange protectors are known in the art for covering and protecting pipe flanges. Various mechanisms are employed for attaching the flange protector to the flange. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,048,571 to Ellis, 4,915,137 to Hall et al., 4,303,101 to Tholen, 4,046,168 to Milne, 3,448,772 to Delamater, 3,370,615 to Tamaki et al., 3,283,639 to Holton, 3,104,681 to Gray, Jr., 2,737,205 to Stringfield, 5,224,514 to Taylor, 1,903,220 to Lemert, 4,157,100 to Turk, 4,158,407 to Rest, 4,168,726 to Klennert, 4,295,680 to Grasso, 4,869,293 to Botsolas, 5,337,792 to Tempel and U.K. Patent No. 2,037,961. While these prior art flange protectors are generally suitable for protecting flanges or pipe ends, they require cooperation with the structure of the flange in order to attach the flange protector to the flange. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,423,753 to Smith et al. requires that the flange be provided with holes, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,903,220 to Lemert requires bendable tabs that go around the outside diameter of the flange to secure the flange protector to the flange.
In addition, while some prior art end protectors, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,104,681, 3,370,615, and 4,303,101, utilize the inside diameter of the conduit to secure the protector, these protectors are not suitable for use in protecting flanged pipe designs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,100 secures an end cap protector to the end of a conduit using the inside diameter but additionally requires cooperation with the outer diameter pipe threads to secure the protector to the conduit.
Furthermore, while U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,966 to Princell discloses a protector for preventing contaminants from entering the opening of an automobile gas tank in which the dust protector attaches to the inside diameter of the gas tank outlet pipe, this device requires difficult manipulation and eventual destruction of the dust protector in order to remove it from the opening.
In summary, prior art flange protectors fail to provide an adequate structure for securing the flange protector to the flange, which structure is oftentimes dependent on the structure of the flange itself. While other protectors sometimes generally use the inner diameter of the conduit to which they are attached to provide a secure connection between the flange protector and the conduit, these devices require additional securing devices, are difficult to remove and result in destruction of the protector during the removal operation.